Enter the World
by DaggerOfPern
Summary: Chapter 3 is up (sorry it's so SHORT)! Kazeyaki Itsuko is an expert hacker. When she stumbles upon a data stream, she goes missing. Teleported eight years into the future, through a computer and into a game, what in 'The World' are you supposed to do?
1. July 18, 1999

Disclaimer: Project .hack is not my work. It is the work of a group, and I but one person. I also have no money, so don't sue me. I'm not marketing this work, but writing it only for my own enjoyment as well as that of others.  
Plot: Read on. Figure it out yourself. *insert Mr. Yuckface, as my Geography teacher would say*.  
  
July 18th, 1999  
  
Kazeyaki Itsuko sat at her computer monitor, typing rapidly into the keyboard. A data box appeared, showing her exactly what she had needed to know. She embedded a virus in the system's mainframe computer and was able to destroy all its data. Avoiding detection like this had become a great game for her.  
Kazeyaki was a family famous for its restaurants. When Itsuko's mother and father had still been alive, they taught her how to cook well, along with hiring good employees and maintaining fine service.  
Itsuko had no intentions of ever taking possession of the family restaurant. She sold it to some lucky fellow who happened to want to buy it. Itsuko was hired by a fine computer software company, and became a programmer.  
The young woman would often hack into their competitors' files and destroy everything, leaving the other companies in a bit of trouble. It took a while for them to install the back-up data, and by then, Itsuko's company had usually put another product on the market before the others could. The hacker was also able to discover other software ideas before they were released, and change them minimally so her company could get it out first.  
And all of this happened without her employers' knowledge.  
It was today that Itsuko was celebrating her 25th birthday. She was turning ni-ju-go sai and was quite proud of it. However, she had refused her friends' offers of a party- politely, of course -and spent the day hacking into random sites. It was fun to destroy someone else's things, even if it was wrong.  
Not to say Kazeyaki-san was dishonorable. In fact, she strictly adhered to many excellent values that were hard to maintain for others. Her only problem was resisting the urge to hack.  
Itsuko did not believe in any religion, although sometimes she would acknowledge Shintoism as the closest to the right direction, that there were spirits in all things. Her family had been Kirishitan, though she herself did not agree. What god would allow himself to be nailed to a cross?  
Scanning through a random data stream, the hacker found something unusual. It was a data stream she had never seen the likes of before. The coding seemed utterly random, just gibberish numbers placed at random to form an inexplicable pattern. It perturbed her deeply, and she set her homemade program to unscramble it.  
As the code slowly rearranged itself, Itsuko finally realized the meaning to the string, though to her it made no sense.  
Kazeyaki-san began to feel somewhat queasy. She shut her eyes, trying to steady herself. She felt like vomiting loudly, but was able to limit herself to quiet gagging.  
A bright flash of light entered her head, and she clutched it feebly. Her nausea was increasing drastically. She growled deeply in her throat, desperately trying to fight it off, and the words finished in her head.  
Skeith, Innus, Magus, Findell, Gorra, Maha, Tarvos, Corbenik.  
The pain became too much.  
  
A/N: How do you like it so far? I'm trying to go a bit slower for once. I usually jump to the big plot first, so now I'm trying to stick with a small morsel at a time. To keep you coming back for more. I hope it's good. Please review, if you have the time. ^_^ Domo arigatou gozaimasu, minna- san! 


	2. July 19, 2007

Disclaimer: Project .hack is not my work. It is the work of a group, and I but one person. I also have no money, so don't sue me. I'm not marketing this work, but writing it only for my own enjoyment as well as that of others.  
  
July 19, 2007  
  
Rubbing her throbbing temple, Itsuko clambered to her feet. How long had she been out? She was pushed out of the way by a crowd of people.  
iA crowd?/i Where was she? It all came back in a rush. And then she looked at her surroundings.  
She stood beside a canal. Many people, most armed and clad in armor, were jostling past, some disappearing next to a revolving, floating. thing. Itsuko's eyes widened. What was this place?  
She hurried to the nearest shop, asking the man that stood there where she was. He quirked an eyebrow. "Mac Anu. Doncha know? Newbies," he added under his breath, but Itsuko heard. "Mm, what's yer name, darlin'?"  
"Kazeyaki Itsuko," she said, presenting her family name first.  
The man's other eyebrow rose. "Kazeyaki? Isn't that the hacker- woman that disappeared about eight years ago? Does that mean iyou're/i a hacker, darlin'? Mm."  
Disappeared. eight years ago? People knew what she was? Wha-?  
"Can you tell me about this. Kazeyaki?" This was received with a nod.  
"She turned twenty-five the day they think she disappeared. There were no traces of a struggle at all, they say, just words flashing across the screen. Skeith, somethin'. I can't really remember. It was on the news exactly eight years ago this day. Really strange, I say.  
"Ah, but may I interest you in some fine wares? I'm sure you'll find my Soteru quite interestin-"  
But the player calling herself Kazeyaki Itsuko had disappeared into a crowd of people.  
Itsuko followed the person she saw in front of her, a tall Long Arm with a rare level thirteen spear. He didn't seem to notice her, until he murmured, "Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground" and began to disappear. He had turned around, and noticed the woman saying the same thing. "Hey-!" he began, but by then he was already gone.  
"I discovered this field on my own," he growled as Itsuko appeared next to him.  
"Aa, gomen nasai. I'm a. newbie here." She paused. "Can you tell me what year it is?"  
"I should say you are. It's 2007. The exact date could be excused, but you ishould/i know the year. Watashi wa Ziege desu. Anata wa?"  
Putting on a polite fake-smile, Itsuko bowed. "I'm Kazeyaki Itsuko."  
"You're a hacker? You don't know how many people use that name in the World. You definitely aren't the first. She was a hacker for a big company, right? Her name's pretty well-known."  
Flattered by the indirect compliment, Itsuko blushed. "I. I'm not just using the name. It really is mine. They say I disappeared eight years ago, but. It isn't true! I'm here, right now. I could tell you about my family, how they were Kirishitans, and I'm not, and how they owned a great restaurant, but I sold it and was hired by a software company, and how the words on the screen that I saw were some weird data stream that my program deciphered! I'm really Itsuko!"  
"Good job," Ziege told her. "You really did your homework."  
Knowing that there was no way he would know things unique to only her, she gave up. At least she was famous. But if no one knew who she was, it wasn't much of a plus.  
"Well, the words began 'Skeith, Innus, Magus, Findell-"  
"Hold it!" he cried. "You know what the bottom of the statue says? You've been here before? Did you find it by hacking?"  
"No, that's what I last remember. Before I ended up in this magical place, I was at my computer, hacking, and then I found that code. When I deciphered it, it just said eight words. I don't know what they mean."  
"Follow me," Kazeyaki-san was told, and she obeyed the Long Arm.  
As they entered the elaborate church, Itsuko couldn't help but gawk at the giant statue of a girl. Her eyes looked so sad.  
"Here," said Ziege. "These are the words. You can't read anymore, but."  
"Skeith, Innus, Magus, Findell, Gorra, Maha, Tarvos, Corbenik," she murmured. "That's all of them."  
"Where'd you find out that?"  
"I told you already! Didn't you listen?"  
"You were serious?" "Yes!"  
"." 


	3. July 20, 2007

Disclaimer: Project .hack is not my work. It is the work of a group, and I but one person. I also have no money, so don't sue me. I'm not marketing this work, but writing it only for my own enjoyment as well as that of others.  
  
July 20, 2007  
  
Ziege had had to log out, eventually, leaving Itsuko alone and thoroughly confused. She had waited the whole night for him to return. Finally, in the wee hours of Mac Anu's morning, her youthful friend appeared at the Chaos Gate.  
"How long have you been here?"  
"The whole night. Why?"  
"Mm."  
"Why does everyone say that?!"  
"Not everyone. It's just my habit."  
"I heard a shopkeeper say it already, and now you, and soon I'll probably being 'mm'ing all over the place!"  
"Calm down! You seriously got no sleep at all? That might explain your mood."  
"I have a question," Itsuko growled through gritted teeth, managing to glower at him fiercely. "What IS this place?"  
"The World."  
"A bit more specific, if you please."  
"It's called the World. It's a computer game."  
"NANI?" A game? How was she in a game? First time-travel, now going into computers. This is INSANE.  
"Hai, a game. You didn't kn- Oh, yeah.. I forgot."  
It was a computer game. That might explain why people were appearing at these strange portals call Chaos Gates and others were running around with weapons and some even killing each other. She had thought it barbarian, when she saw it, and had hidden in an alley.  
Ziege and Itsuko headed worked their way through the slowly- thickening crowds, talking amiably, now off the subject of the World. Soon they returned to it, and conversational tones dropped to a more serious note.  
"What if I'm stuck here forever? What if I can never log out? What then?"  
"I.. don't know. I can't figure it out."  
"..I wish I did."  
"Let's suspend such talk until a time that requires it. Do you want to go hunting?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Do you want to go fight monsters?"  
"I guess.. Sure. I'd love to."  
"Alright, follow me!"  
They warped to Soft Beautiful Melody, and Ziege opened a portal. They prepared to fight.  
  
A/N: More short chapters! Gomen nasai. I'm bad at writing for a long time. If you have any suggestions as to wear the plot will turn, please give your comments! I'm very open to suggestions. As in, I probably won't be able to continue the story without them. Ack! Eheh. Oh, if you wish to see a picture of Ziege, go to . I think he's pretty cute. Don't you? Oh, and one last thing. Yes, Itsuko DOES have a weapon. She had it to begin with. She just didn't notice it because it wasn't equipped then. 


End file.
